Method of forming an exterior mirror reflector sub-assembly with auxiliary reflector portion

ABSTRACT

A method of forming a mirror reflector sub-assembly suitable for use in an exterior rearview mirror assembly of a vehicle includes providing a glass substrate having a first surface and a second surface. Glass is physically removed from a portion of the second surface of the glass substrate to form a curved recess locally thereat. The second surface of the glass substrate is coated with a mirror reflector via a vacuum deposition process. When used in an automotive exterior rearview mirror assembly, the mirror reflective element provides a principal reflector portion and an auxiliary reflector portion to a driver of the vehicle who views the mirror reflective element when normally operating the vehicle. A mirror back plate is formed in a plastic molding operation and a heater pad is disposed between the coated second surface of the glass substrate and a first side of the mirror back plate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/605,153, filed Jan. 26, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,102,279,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/319,165,filed Jun. 30, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,939,589, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/107,625, filed Dec.16, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,777,430, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/908,457, filed Jun. 3, 2013, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,608,326, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/621,388, filed Sep. 17, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,459,809,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/290,640,filed Nov. 7, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,267,535, which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/191,772, filed Jul. 27, 2011, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,061,859, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/097,570, filed Apr. 29, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,021,005, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/971,228, filed Dec. 17, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,934,844, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/893,242, filed Sep.29, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,887,204, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/776,780, filed May 10, 2010, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,824,045, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/124,297, filed May 21, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,748,856,which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application, Ser. No.60/939,753, filed May 23, 2007, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to exterior rearview mirror assembliesand, more particularly, to an exterior rearview mirror assembly havingan auxiliary wide angle reflector portion or optic for providing thedriver with a wider angle rearward field of view as compared to asubstantially planar portion of the rearview mirror.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to provide a wide angle rearward field of view to a driverof a vehicle via a wide angle reflective element at one or both of theexterior rearview mirror assemblies. Such a wide angle rearward field ofview may be provided via a curved mirror reflector, or an auxiliary wideangle reflective element may be provided at a portion of a generallyplanar mirror reflector, such as via a stick on curved auxiliaryreflector element attached to the generally planar mirror reflector.Such add-on curved auxiliary reflectors may be provided at the frontsurface or first surface (the surface of the mirror reflector that isgenerally facing rearward and at least partially toward the driver ofthe vehicle) and provide a reduced image size (as compared to the sizeof the generally planar reflector) wide angle rearward field of viewthat is readily viewable by the driver of the vehicle. However, suchcurved, auxiliary wide angle reflectors are additional components andadd to the cost and manufacturing complexity of the mirror assembly.Other auxiliary wide angle reflectors have been proposed, such as thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,315,419; 7,097,312 and/or 6,522,451, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an exterior rearview mirror reflector orreflective element having a generally planar (or slightly curved)principal reflector portion and an auxiliary wide angle reflectorportion integrally formed at the mirror substrate.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an exterior rearviewmirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror reflective elementcomprising a mirror substrate having a front surface and a rear surface.The mirror substrate comprises a first reflector portion and a secondreflector portion, with the first reflector portion comprising aprincipal reflector portion of the mirror reflective element. The rearsurface of the mirror substrate has a curved recess established thereat,and the second curved reflector portion is established at the curvedrecess. The curved recess has a radius of curvature that is less than aradius of curvature of the first reflector portion (where the radius ofcurvature of the first reflector portion may be substantially infinityfor a generally flat or planar mirror element or substrate with agenerally flat or planar principal reflector portion, or may be ameasurable radius for a curved or slightly curved or bent mirror elementand/or substrate), whereby the curved recess, when coated by a reflectorcoating, provides a wide angle auxiliary reflector portion integrallyformed with the mirror reflective element (such as by physicallyremoving, such as by grinding or sculpting or physically ablating or thelike, a portion of the substrate so as to create or establish a physicaldish-shaped convex depression or recess or crater at the surface of thesubstrate).

The mirror reflective element may comprise an electro-optic mirrorreflective element having a first or front mirror substrate and a secondor rear mirror substrate and an electro-optic medium disposedtherebetween. The curved recess is established at a rear surface of thesecond or rear mirror substrate. The first reflector portion maycomprise a metallic reflector disposed at a front surface of the rearmirror substrate and between the rear mirror substrate and theelectro-optic medium. The metallic reflector at the front surface of therear mirror substrate has a window established thereat, with the windowsubstantially corresponding to a location of the curved recess at therear surface of the mirror substrate. Optionally, the first reflectorportion may comprise a metallic reflector disposed at the rear surfaceof the rear mirror substrate, with the second reflector portioncomprising the metallic reflector disposed at the curved recess.

Therefore, the present invention provides an auxiliary wide angle mirrorreflector portion that is integrally formed with the mirror substrateand mirror reflective element. The present invention thus provides anauxiliary wide angle reflector portion without additional components orelements being adhered to the front or rear surface of the reflectiveelement, and thus provides an enhanced mirror reflective element withsuch an auxiliary wide angle reflector portion. The present inventionprovides a curved wide angle reflector portion that is behind the firstor front surface of the mirror reflective element so that the first orfront surface of the mirror reflective element comprises a generally orsubstantially planar surface with the curved reflector portionestablished or formed behind and viewable through the generally orsubstantially planar front surface of the mirror reflective element.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of an exterior mirror assembly with anauxiliary wide angle reflector in accordance with the present invention,shown as viewed in the direction of travel of the vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of an exterior mirror reflector inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the mirror reflector of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic of the curvature of the auxiliary wide anglereflector of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a table showing dimensions of the auxiliary wide anglereflector for various applications thereof in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of another mirror reflector in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the mirror reflector of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of another mirror reflector in accordancewith the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, an exterior rearview mirror assembly 10 for a vehicle includesa mirror reflector or reflective element 12 received in and/or supportedby a mirror shell or casing 14 (FIG. 1). Mirror assembly 10 is mountedat the side 16 a of a host or subject vehicle 16. Mirror reflector 12includes a first or principal mirror reflective element portion 18 and asecond or auxiliary wide angle reflective element portion or reflectiveoptic 20 integrally formed with the mirror reflector 12, as discussedbelow. The auxiliary wide angle optic may be integrally formed such asby physically removing, such as by grinding or sculpting or physicalablation or the like, a portion of the substrate so as to create orestablish a physical dish-shaped generally convex-shaped depression orrecess or crater at the surface of the substrate, and coating the formeddepression or recess with a reflector coating or element or the like, asalso discussed below.

In the illustrated embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 3, mirror reflector12 comprises an electro-optic reflective element (but could comprise anon-electro-optic reflective element) having a front substrate 22, arear substrate 24 and an electro-optic medium 26 (such as a solidpolymer matrix electrochromic medium or the like) sandwichedtherebetween and sealed via a perimeter seal 28. Front substrate 22 hasa transparent conductor coating 30 (such as an indium tin oxide (ITO)coating or layer) disposed at its rear surface 22 a, while rearsubstrate 24 has a mirror reflector or coating 32 (such as anon-dichroic transflector, such as an ITO/Ag/ITO stack of layers orcoatings or the like) and a transparent conductor layer 34 (such as anITO or F-doped or As-doped tin oxide layer or the like) disposed at itsfront surface 24 a. The mirror reflector 12 thus comprises a thirdsurface electro-optic mirror element (such as an electrochromic mirrorelement). The front and rear substrates 22, 24 may comprise generallyplanar mirror substrates or may have a slight radius of curvature toprovide a wider angle field of view across the principal reflectorportion 18 depending on the particular application of the mirrorreflective element and exterior rearview mirror assembly.

As shown in FIG. 3, the transparent conductor layer 34 is established ordisposed at substantially the entire principal reflecting portion of thereflective element, while the mirror reflector 32 is disposed at thetransparent conductor layer 34 and with a window 32 a masked or formedthrough the mirror reflector 32 (such that a window area 32 a of therear substrate is substantially devoid of the mirror reflector coating,while the mirror reflector or coating is present at the other regions ofthe principal reflecting area of the rear substrate of the reflectiveelement). The window 32 a may be formed via any suitable means, such asvia masking of the window area during sputter deposition of the mirrorreflector 32 or the like, such as via utilizing aspects of the coatingprocesses described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/021,065,filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The transparentconductor 34 is disposed over substantially the entire front surface 24a of the rear substrate and at the window region so as to provide aconductive layer or surface at the electro-optic medium 26 and oversubstantially the entire interface between the rear substrate and theelectro-optic medium. Thus, electrical conductivity is preserved betweenthe glass substrate and the electro-optic medium across the interfacesurface of the substrate including at the window region, so as toprovide substantially uniform dimming of the mirror reflective element(i.e. darkening of the electro-optic medium) when an electrical voltageis applied to the conductive coatings at the opposed surfaces of thefront and rear substrates.

As shown in FIG. 3, rear substrate 24 has the curved auxiliary wideangle mirror reflector portion 20 integrally formed therewith. In theillustrated embodiment, the auxiliary wide angle mirror reflectorportion 20 or spotter element comprises a curved (such as convex orspherical or aspherical) formation or depression or recess 24 c formedor established (such as via grinding of the rear surface of the glasssubstrate or other suitable means) at the rear surface 24 b of rearsubstrate 24. The curved recess 24 c is integrally formed as part of therear substrate and is formed at a rear surface location that isgenerally opposite or generally aligned with the window 32 a formed atthe mirror reflector 32 at the front surface 24 a of the rear substrate24. A mirror reflector or reflective coating 36 (such as a metallicreflector coating, such as aluminum or silver or chromium or alloysthereof or the like) is disposed or established (such as via sputterdeposition or chemical deposition or other establishing means) at therear or fourth surface 24 b of rear substrate 24 and at least atencompassing the curved recess 24 c to form the curved spotter orauxiliary wide angle mirror reflector portion 20. Optionally, such as ifthe reflector coating 36 is environmentally fragile or non-robust, asealing or protective layer (not shown), such as a lacquer or paint orink or the like, may be established over the reflector coating tosubstantially seal the reflector coating and/or to protect the reflectorcoating.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rear reflector coating 36 may be establishedsubstantially only at the curved recess and the region substantiallyimmediately surrounding the curved recess, or the rear reflector coatingmay cover more of the rear surface of the rear substrate. Optionally, ifthe mirror reflective element is a transflective display-on-demand typeof mirror reflective element, a window or aperture may be formed throughthe rear reflector coating (such as in applications where the rearreflector coating extends at least partially or substantially over therear surface of the substrate and at the principal reflecting portion ofthe mirror reflective element) for a display element or illuminationsource to project illumination therethrough.

Thus, the auxiliary wide angle mirror reflector portion 20 provides awide angle rearward field of view to the driver of the vehicle ascompared to the field of view provided by the generally planar orslightly curved principal reflecting area or portion 18 of the mirrorreflective element 12. The diameter or cross dimension of the wide anglemirror reflector portion and the radius of curvature (with a smallerradius of curvature providing a wider angle rearward field of view) ofthe wide angle mirror reflector portion 20 are selected to provide thedesired wide angle rearward field of view, while being established at adesired or appropriate depth at the rear surface of the rear substrate.The curved recess has a radius of curvature that is smaller andpreferably substantially smaller than the radius of curvature of theprincipal reflector portion, which may have a large radius of curvaturethat may approach infinity, such as for a slightly curved to generallyor substantially planar or flat mirror element.

As can be seen with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, for a spherical orconvex construction, the diameter or cross dimension or size D (thedimension across the reflective element) of the auxiliary wide anglereflector portion and the radius of curvature R of the wide anglereflector portion determine the depth H of the recess to be formed atthe rear surface of the rear substrate. Thus, the thickness of the glasssubstrate should be selected to have a thickness that allows for theformation of the curved recess at its rear surface while limiting theeffect of the curved recess on the structural integrity of the mirrorreflective element. If a larger size or cross dimension or diameter(such as about 60 mm to about 80 mm or thereabouts, such as may be usedon an exterior rearview mirror for a larger vehicle, such as a truck orthe like) of the auxiliary wide angle reflector portion and/or a smallerradius of curvature (such as about 200 mm to about 400 mm orthereabouts) of the auxiliary wide angle reflector portion is/aredesired, the glass substrate should be thick enough to have such arecess formed at its rear surface (with the recess possibly being about1 mm deep to about 4 mm deep or thereabouts) without adversely affectingthe structural integrity of the reflective element. For example, andwith reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, if a 2 mm thick glass substrate isselected for the reflective element, an auxiliary wide angle reflectorhaving a diameter or cross dimension D of up to about 70 mm could beachieved with a 400 mm radius of curvature R by grinding a curved recesshaving a chord height or depth H of about 1.53 mm into the rear surfaceof the substrate and thus leaving about 0.47 mm of glass at the apex ofthe curved recess.

Although several radii of curvature and diameters/cross dimensions areshown in the table of FIG. 5, clearly other sizes and/or radii ofcurvature or multiple radii of curvature and/or combinations thereof maybe implemented without affecting the scope of the present invention.Optionally, for a given size or diameter of the auxiliary wide anglereflector portion, it may be desirable to provide the smallest radius ofcurvature of the curved recess (while maintaining the desired structuralintegrity of the glass substrate and/or reflective element) so as toprovide a wider angle rearward field of view to the driver of thevehicle via the auxiliary wide angle reflector portion. Although theradii of curvature and diameters and chord heights or recess depths areshown for spherical formations or constructions, aspherically formedrecesses or constructions may be integrally established at the rearsurface of the rear substrate to provide other, aspheric or non-uniformwide angle field of views, without affecting the scope of the presentinvention. For such applications, the depth of the aspheric curvedrecess should be determined to ensure that the curved recess is notestablished too deep into rear surface of the glass substrate for theparticular applications. Thus, the auxiliary wide angle reflector optic,as viewed through the front surface of the reflective element by aviewer viewing the front or front surface of the reflective element, canbe a spherical or aspherical reflector optic, depending on theparticular application of the reflective element and mirror assembly andthe desired rearward field of view provided by the auxiliary wide anglereflector optic.

Although shown as a generally circular-shaped auxiliary wide anglemirror reflector portion, the auxiliary wide angle mirror reflectorportion of the present invention may comprise other shapes and/or may beotherwise located or established at the mirror reflective element, whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.Optionally, the wide angle reflector may comprise a generallyconvex-shaped reflector, such as a spherically convex shape, or the wideangle reflector may comprise a generally convex-shaped reflector havinga compound curvature convex shape, such as a multi-radius shape oraspherical shape or the like. For example, the auxiliary wide anglemirror reflector portion may be formed or sculpted or drilled or groundat a corner or outboard region, preferably an outboard, upper region ofthe mirror substrate relative to the side of a vehicle to which themirror would be mounted and viewed by a driver of that vehicle (orelsewhere depending on the particular application), and may comprise apartial circle or partial spherical depression or recess or other shape(such as multi-radius or non-spherical or aspherical shape or segment orsuch as a rectangular shape that may be curved as a partialcylindrical-shaped recess or the like). Optionally, the wide anglereflector may be formed or sculpted or drilled at the rear surface ofthe substrate so that the reflector is effectively canted relative tothe mirror substrate so as to reflect the wide angle image toward thedriver of the vehicle. The rear surface of the corner region of themirror substrate may be formed or ground or sculpted or otherwiseprocessed to provide the desired shape and/or contour/curvature of theauxiliary reflector portion, and the rear surface of the mirrorsubstrate may be coated or otherwise processed to provide the mirrorreflector at the established curved recess at the corner region of themirror substrate, such as in a similar manner as described above. Thewide angle reflector may utilize aspects of the mirror assembliesdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,315,419; 7,097,312 and/or 6,522,451;and/or PCT International Publication WO 01/81956 to George E. PlatzerJr. entitled “Compound Automotive Rearview Mirror”; and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar.23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008; and/or Ser. No.11/912,576, filed Oct. 25, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,626,749; and/orU.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/050,810, filed May 6, 2008;and/or Ser. No. 61/050,853, filed May 6, 2008, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

In accordance with what is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,522,451 (aboveincorporated herein by reference in its entirety), a plano elementand/or a multiradius element can comprise a variable reflectanceelectro-optic element such as an electrochromic mirror reflector. Thus,both the plano element and the multiradius element can comprise anelectrochromic mirror element or either of the plano element and theplano element can comprise an electrochromic mirror element and theother can comprise a fixed reflectance non-variable reflectance mirrorelement such as a metal reflector coated glass panel such as a chromiumcoated glass substrate. Also, if both the plano element and themultiradius element comprise an electro-optic element such as anelectrochromic mirror element capable of electrically dimmablereflectivity, both elements can dim together and in tandem under controlof a common dimming control signal (typically provided by anelectro-optic automatic dimming interior mirror assembly mounted in thecabin of the automobile and equipped with photosensors to detectincident glare and ambient light). Alternately, if both the planoelement and the multiradius element comprise an electro-optic elementsuch as an electrochromic mirror element capable of electricallydimmable reflectivity, the plano element can dim independently of themultiradius element (such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,677,the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein). If either or both of the elements comprise an electrochromicelement, preferably, the electrochromic reflective element comprises afront substrate and a rear substrate with an electrochromic mediumdisposed between, such as a solid polymer matrix electrochromic mediumsuch as is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/350,930,filed Jul. 12, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,306, or such as isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,668,663; 5,724,187; 5,910,854 and5,239,405, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein. Also, although it is preferable to utilize amultiradius or compound curvature reflective element such as anaspherical element or a compound curvature element for the auxiliarymirror element adjacent the plano reflective element (as this enablesleast discontinuity in image at the joint between the adjacent elementsof the assembly), a spherical reflective element (that has substantiallyonly one radius of curvature and, as such, is a section from a sphere)can optionally be used adjacent the plano reflective element instead of,or in addition to, the multiradius reflective element.

In accordance with what is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,626,749 (aboveincorporated herein by reference in its entirety), the mirror reflectiveelement may include a wide angle or auxiliary mirror or reflector at aperimeter region or corner region of the reflective element to provide arearward wide angle view to the driver of the vehicle. The wide anglereflector may be established at the reflective element and behind thefourth surface of the reflective element, such as by utilizing aspectsof the reflective elements described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,419 and/orU.S. pat. publications, Pub. No. US 2002/0105741, published Aug. 8,2002; and/or Pub. No. US 2003/0117731, published Jun. 26, 2003; and/orInternational Pub. No. WO 01/81956, published Nov. 1, 2001, which areall hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Thewide angle reflector may be positioned at a perimeter region of thereflective element so as to provide a wide angle viewing area forviewing the blind spot area at the side and rearward of the vehicle,while the primary or central region of the reflective element provides agenerally planar reflective surface for viewing rearward and sideward ofthe vehicle mirror. The reflective element includes a perimeter bandaround the perimeter of the reflective element and a perimeter bandportion inboard of a wide angle area or region at the reflective elementand around an inboard perimeter region of the wide angle reflector. Theperimeter band thus separates and/or demarcates the wide anglereflective portion from the generally planar reflective portion of thereflective element, and may conceal or hide the edges of the wide anglereflector. The perimeter band is disposed on the second surface of thefront substrate and generally at or along the perimeter seal of thereflective element, while the perimeter band portion is disposed on thesecond surface and inboard of the seal to generally outline/demarcate aninner perimeter of the wide angle reflector. The perimeter band portionmay have generally the same width as the perimeter band, or may have areduced width or narrow width to reduce the effect on the viewing areaof the reflective element. Wide angle reflector is positioned at therear (or fourth) surface of the rear substrate and may be adhered to therear surface and generally behind the wide angle area defined by theperimeter band and the perimeter band portion.

In accordance with what is disclosed in PCT International Publication WO01/81956 (above incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), theauxiliary wide angle mirror portion may be disposed at the secondsurface of the front substrate of an exterior electrochromic mirrorreflective element, and with the electrochromic medium containingelectrochromic-active material contacting the auxiliary wide anglemirror portion and disposed between the auxiliary wide angle mirrorportion/second surface and a reflector coated rear substrate of theexterior electrochromic mirror reflective element.

Therefore, the mirror reflector or reflective element or transflectiveelectro-optic mirror element of the present invention has an auxiliarywide angle mirror reflector portion established integrally into the rearsubstrate. The auxiliary mirror reflector portion may be formed orestablished via grinding a portion of the rear surface of the rearsubstrate and coating the ground area. The rear surface reflectorcoating may be established or disposed substantially only at the groundarea or curved recess, or may be established or disposed substantiallyover the entire rear surface of the rear substrate (particularly forapplications of the integrally formed wide angle auxiliary mirrorreflector portion in fourth surface reflector mirror elements, asdiscussed below).

Optionally, the integrally formed auxiliary wide angle mirror reflectorportion of the present invention may be integrally formed at a rearsurface of a fourth surface reflecting electro-optic mirror reflectiveelement, whereby the rear surface mirror reflector disposed at theauxiliary wide angle mirror reflector portion may be established ordisposed over substantially the entire rear surface of the rearsubstrate, with the front surface of the rear substrate having only thetransparent conductor layer established thereat. Optionally, theintegrally formed auxiliary wide angle mirror reflector portion of thepresent invention may be integrally formed at a rear surface ofnon-electro-optic or non-electrochromic reflective element, such as asingle substrate mirror reflective element. In such an embodiment, thesingle substrate may have a mirror reflector or coating established ordisposed at its rear surface and at the integrally formed recess of thewide angle mirror reflector portion, such that the rear surfacereflector of the mirror reflective element is established over theentire rear surface to form the principal reflector portion of themirror element and the auxiliary wide angle reflector portion of themirror element. The single substrate may comprise a generally flat orplanar substrate or a slightly curved substrate or a prismatic elementor substrate, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

Optionally, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a mirror reflector 112 maycomprise an electro-optic reflective element (but could comprise anon-electro-optic reflective element) having a front substrate 122, arear substrate 124 and an electro-optic medium 126 (such as a solidpolymer matrix electrochromic medium or the like) sandwichedtherebetween and sealed via a perimeter seal 128. The electrochromicreflective element 112 includes the electrochromic medium 126 sandwichedbetween the front and rear substrates and at a principal reflectingregion 118 of the reflective element 112. In the illustrated embodiment,the rear substrate 124 is cut away or formed to accommodate the wideangle element 120 at a cut-away region 121 (such as in a similar manneras described in U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/050,810,filed May 6, 2008; and/or Ser. No. 61/050,853, filed May 6, 2008, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties) so thatthe wide angle element 120 is established at the rear surface 122 a ofthe front substrate 122 and at the cut-away region 121 and at a wideangle reflector region 122 b of front substrate 122. Thus, the wideangle element may be established at a cutaway region and rearward of thefront substrate and adjacent to the electrochromic medium and rearsubstrate, such that the mirror reflector assembly does not provide adimming function at the wide angle reflecting region.

In the illustrated embodiment, front substrate 122 has a transparentconductor coating 130 (such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) coating orlayer) disposed at its rear surface 122 a, while rear substrate 124 hasa mirror reflector or coating 132 (such as a non-dichroic transflector,such as an ITO/Ag/ITO stack of layers or coatings or the like, which mayinclude a transparent conductor layer such as an ITO or F-doped orAs-doped tin oxide layer or the like) disposed at its front surface 124a. The mirror reflector 112 thus comprises a third surface electro-opticmirror element (such as an electrochromic mirror element) at theprincipal reflecting region of the reflector that is bounded by the seal128. The front and rear substrates 122, 124 may comprise generallyplanar mirror substrates or may have a slight radius of curvature toprovide a wider angle field of view across the principal reflectorportion 118 depending on the particular application of the mirrorreflective element and exterior rearview mirror assembly.

As shown in FIG. 6, front substrate 122 has the curved auxiliary wideangle mirror reflector portion 120 integrally formed therewith. In theillustrated embodiment, the auxiliary wide angle mirror reflectorportion 120 or spotter element comprises a curved (such as convex orspherical or aspherical) formation or depression or recess 122 c formedor established (such as via grinding of the rear surface of the glasssubstrate or other suitable physical material removal means) at the rearsurface 122 a of front substrate 122. The curved recess 122 c isintegrally formed as part of the front substrate and is formed at a rearsurface location that is at the cut-away region 121 of the mirrorreflective element assembly. The mirror reflector or reflective coating120 a (such as a metallic reflector coating, such as aluminum or silveror chromium or alloys thereof or the like, and optionally may be similarin materials and/or reflectance to the mirror reflector 132 at frontsurface 124 a of rear substrate 124, but other coatings could beutilized at the wide angle reflector depression 122 c at rear surface122 a of front substrate 122) is disposed or established (such as viasputter deposition or chemical deposition or other establishing means)at the rear or second surface 122 a of rear substrate 122 and at leastat encompassing the curved recess 122 c to form the curved spotter orauxiliary wide angle mirror reflector portion 120. Optionally, such asif the reflector coating 120 a is environmentally fragile or non-robust,a sealing or protective layer (not shown), such as a lacquer or paint orink or the like, may be established over the reflector coating tosubstantially seal the reflector coating and/or to protect the reflectorcoating.

Thus, when forming the front substrate 122 and the mirror reflector orreflective element assembly 112, the rear surface 122 a of frontsubstrate 122 may be coated with the transparent conductor coating 130(such as across its entire or substantially its entire rear surface),and the rear surface of the extended portion or wide angle region 122 bof front substrate 122 may be ground or physically ablated to establishthe recess or depression 122 c at the rear surface 122 a of frontsubstrate 122 (such as by first physically removing the transparentconductor coating 130 at the wide angle region of the front substrateand then physically removing a portion of the substrate to establish therecess or depression at the rear surface of the front substrate). Therecess or depression 122 c may then be coated with the mirror reflectoror coating 120 a to establish the wide angle reflector 120 at theoverhang region or cut-away region or wide angle reflector region 121 ofthe mirror reflector 112. Optionally, the wide angle element may utilizeaspects of the Platzer-type auxiliary mirrors that follow the teachingof PCT International Publication WO 01/81956 to George E. Platzer Jr.entitled “Compound Automotive Rearview Mirror”, the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Optionally, the front substrate may include a perimeter band and/ordemarcating band and/or hiding layer that traverses the front substrateat the wide angle reflecting region to demarcate the wide anglereflecting region from the generally planar or principal reflectingregion and optionally to generally circumscribe at least a portion ofthe wide angle reflector, such as by utilizing aspects of the mirrorassemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501; 7,184,190; 7,255,451;and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008;and/or Ser. No. 11/912,576, filed Oct. 25, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No.7,626,749; and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/050,853,filed May 6, 2008; and/or Ser. No. 61/050,810, filed May 6, 2008, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Thehiding layer thus may mask or hide from direct view of the driver theseal and/or other components or elements of the mirror reflectorassembly construction that are to the rear of the front substrate and inthe area of the bordering or hiding layer or element. The hiding layerthus serves as a demarcation element and a hiding or occluding elementfor the wide angle mirror reflector established at the rear of the glasssubstrate at the wide angle reflecting region of the mirror reflectorassembly. The hiding layer or demarcation element may demarcate ordelineate or distinguish or frame the wide angle reflector from thegenerally planar principal reflecting region of the reflective elementto enhance the discernibility of the wide angle reflector at the wideangle reflecting region of the mirror reflector assembly, while hidingthe perimeter seal of the electro-optic mirror reflector assembly.

Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 8, a non-electro-optic mirror element212 may include a generally planar substrate 222 with a wide anglereflector 220 established at a rear surface 222 a of substrate 222.Substrate 222 has the curved auxiliary wide angle mirror reflectorportion 220 integrally formed therewith. In the illustrated embodiment,the auxiliary wide angle mirror reflector portion 220 or spotter elementcomprises a curved (such as convex or spherical or aspherical) formationor depression or recess 222 c formed or established (such as viagrinding of the rear surface of the glass substrate or other suitablephysical material removal means) at the rear surface 222 a of substrate222.

The rear surface 222 a of substrate 222 is coated with a reflectorcoating 234, such as a transflective reflector coating that is partiallylight transmissive. The wide angle reflector coating 220 a and theprincipal reflecting coating 234 may comprise the same material (wherethe substrate may be formed and the depression or recess 222 c may beestablished at the rear surface of the substrate prior to the coatingprocess, which may coat the entire rear surface of the substrate) or maybe different materials (or applied in different processes), such as forapplications where the substrate is coated with the transflectivereflector 234 before the depression or recess 222 c is established (byremoving the reflector coating and a portion of the substrate), and thenthe recess 222 c is coated with the wide angle reflector coating. In theillustrated embodiment, a display element 238 is disposed to the rear ofthe substrate 222 and behind the transflective coating 234, wherebydisplay information or illumination emitted by the display element 238is viewable through the transflective coating and the substrate by aperson viewing the front surface of the substrate, while the presence ofthe display element to the rear of the substrate is rendered covert bythe transflective coating when the display element is not activated.Optionally, if a transflective reflector coating is disposed at therecess or depression 222 c, it is envisioned that a display element orillumination element or the like may be disposed to the rear of the wideangle reflector 220 so as to be viewable, when activated, through thesubstrate by a person viewing the front surface of the substrate, whilebeing substantially covert when deactivated.

Therefore, the present invention provides a mirror reflective elementwith an integrally formed auxiliary wide angle mirror reflector portionand a method of making such a mirror reflective element. For example,the mirror substrate may cut to the desired shape or form, and the rearsurface of the substrate may be ground or otherwise processed to formthe desired curvature of the recess (such as a spherical or asphericalcurvature). The recess may be formed before or after the front surfaceof the mirror substrate is coated with the transparent conductor and/orthe metallic reflector (with the window established thereat, such as viamasking during sputter deposition of the metallic reflector or such asvia laser ablation of the metallic reflector coating at the window areaor the like). The front surface and/or rear surface of the mirrorsubstrate may be coated with the reflector coatings (and optionally, thesurfaces may be coated via a two-side sputter deposition process, suchas by utilizing aspects described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) to establishthe desired reflector portions of the mirror reflective element. Therear substrate may be assembled to the front substrate (with theelectro-optic medium disposed and sealed therebetween) to assemble themirror reflective element. Optionally, the rear surface of the rearsubstrate may be ground and/or coated to establish the auxiliary wideangle reflector portion after the mirror reflective element isassembled.

Optionally, conductive electrode coated glass substrates arecommercially available from various sources. For example, tinoxide-coated glass substrates, known as “TEC-Glass” products, may beobtained from Libbey-Owens-Ford Co., LOF Glass Division, Toledo, Ohio,and such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,592, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such “TEC-Glass”products are manufactured by an on-line chemical vapor depositionprocess that pyrolytically deposits onto clear float glass a multi-layerthin film structure, which includes a microscopically thin coating offluorine-doped tin oxide (having a fine grain uniform structure) withadditional undercoating thin film layers disposed between thefluorine-doped tin oxide layer and the underlying glass substrate. The“TEC-Glass” substrates may be available in different thicknesses, suchas 2 thick or 3 mm thick glass substrates and/or the like.

Optionally, the mirror assembly and/or mirror reflective elementassembly or sub-assembly may include a back plate that includes aperimeter framing portion or bezel portion that extends around theperimeter edges of the reflective element to support the reflectiveelement and frame the reflective element at the mirror assembly (such asby utilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No.7,581,859, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety). The perimeter bezel portion may be narrow or small dependingon the particular application of the reflective element and mirrorreflector sub-assembly. Optionally, the mirror reflector sub-assemblymay comprise a bezelless or frameless reflective element (such as thetypes described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,190; and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar.23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008; and/or Ser. No.11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451, and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties), whereby the backplate may not include a perimeter framing portion or bezel portionaround the perimeter of the reflective element.

As described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/520,193, filed Sep.13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859 (incorporated above by referencein its entirety), the mirror back plate may comprise a plastic molding,such as a plastic molding formed by injection molding or co-injectionmolding or the like. The back plate may be formed with an attachingportion, such as a raised annular ring or annular prongs or annularsnaps or the like at its rear surface (opposite from the mounting faceor surface that attaches to the mirror reflective element) for attachingthe back plate to a mirror actuator (for manually or electricallyadjusting an angle of the mirror reflective element relative to themirror casing).

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include a heater pad or element atthe rear surface of the glass substrate to provide an anti-fogging ofde-fogging feature to the exterior mirror assembly (such as by utilizingaspects of the heater elements or pads described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/334,139, filed Jan. 18, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No.7,400,435; and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/853,850,filed Oct. 24, 2006; Ser. No. 60/918,089, filed Mar. 15, 2007; and/orSer. No. 60/970,687, filed Sep. 7, 2007; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US07/82099, filed Oct. 22, 2007, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties). The back plate and/or heaterpad may include suitable electrical connectors and connectionsincorporated therein (such as by utilizing aspects of the mirrorassembly described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/334,139, filedJan. 18, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,400,435, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety) for electrically connecting theheater pad and/or display element (or other suitable electricalconnectors may be utilized, such as electrical leads or wire harnessesor pigtails or other separate connectors or cables or the like). Theheater pad may conform to the rear surface of the rear substrate andthus may provide heating to the auxiliary wide angle mirror reflectorportion, and thus may provide substantially uniform heating of themirror reflective element over substantially the entire reflecting areaof the mirror reflective element, including the integrally formedauxiliary wide angle mirror reflector portion.

As disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/334,139, filed Jan.18, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,400,435, incorporated above, a heatingelement or heater pad may comprise a flexible substrate, such as a thin,flexible polymeric element, such as a few thousandths of an inch (mils)thick sheet (such as a thickness of one to fifty mils or greater) ofpolyester or similar polymeric material, such as Mylar™, commerciallyavailable from DuPont, or the like, with a plurality of heaterconductive traces disposed thereon. The conductive traces may comprise apair of electrically isolated traces for the heater function of theheater pad and may comprise a silver frit or the like screened onto aback surface of the flexible substrate, with each trace terminating ator connecting to a respective electrical connector or tab or terminal(such as via metallic pins or posts protruding through the polymericsubstrate and between the respective traces and terminals). Theconductive traces (such as a silver frit or silver containing or metalcontaining or graphite containing conductive material, such as aconductive epoxy or paste or layer or ink or the like) may be disposedon the attaching or first surface of the substrate (the surface thatfaces/attaches to the rear surface of the reflective element). Theheater pad may be similar to known heater pads, and may utilize aspectsdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,466. The heater pad may include anadhesive layer, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), on itsfirst surface for adhering the heater pad to the rear of the reflectiveelement (typically, the pressure sensitive adhesive is covered by a peelaway backing, whereby the backing is peeled from the polymeric substrateto expose the adhesive and the heater pad is then laid on or pressedagainst the rear surface of the reflective element to adhere thereto).The heater pad substrate may also include an adhesive layer (such asdouble sided tape or a pressure sensitive adhesive or the like) on itssecond surface, whereby a cover or film may be removed from the surfaceto expose the adhesive/tape when attaching a back plate to the heaterpad and reflective element. Conductive traces may be disposed oversubstantially the entire heater pad substrate, except in the regionswhere the electrical connectors are located. The conductive tracesgenerate heat when a current is applied to them via electricalconnectors or tabs (such as via electrical connection to a power sourceor wiring harness of the mirror assembly).

As disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/334,139, conductivetraces may terminate in a respective flexible flap, which may overlay arespective bus-bar coating or portion at the rear surface of thereflective element or which may fold or bend at least partially aroundthe respective edge portion of the glass substrate to contact an edgecoating or solder at the respective edge portion. A conductive epoxy maybe applied to the connection area to ensure a good electrical connectionbetween the traces and the respective conductive coatings/solders/layersat the reflective element.

Optionally, and as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/334,139, a connecting strip for electrically connecting orestablishing conductive continuity between the heater pad or sheet andthe wiring harness or circuitry of the mirror assembly may comprise asingle strip with four conductive traces thereon, such that a singleconnection may be made to the mirror assembly. The strip is a flexibleribbon or strip that may be readily flexed or bent to connect to aconnector at the mirror assembly or at the end of a wiring harness orribbon of the mirror assembly. Optionally, the heater pad or sheet mayinclude two or more connector strips, where one strip may include theconductive traces for the heater traces, while the other strip mayinclude the conductive traces for the reflective element traces. Thestrips may then be flexed or bent to connect to the correspondingconnectors at the mirror assembly.

The heater pad or sheet disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/334,139 thus provides a flexible heater pad with the conductivetraces and connectors integrally formed thereon, whereby attachment andelectrical connection of the heater pad or sheet to the reflectiveelement is made via adhering the heater pad or sheet to the rear surfaceof the reflective element. The heating elements or traces and the cellpowering elements or traces are provided on the heater pad or substrateand are separate from and isolated from and not contiguous with oneanother. Each of the traces terminates at an electrical connector orterminal or pin at the rear surface of the heater pad for connecting torespective connectors or terminals of a wiring harness or the like atthe mirror assembly. The electrical connection of the heater pad andreflective element assembly may thus be made to a wiring harness orelectrical connector or connectors at the mirror assembly via one ormore electrical connections.

As stated above, the reflective element of the rearview mirror assemblymay comprise an electro-optic or electrochromic reflective element orcell, such as an electrochromic mirror assembly and electrochromicreflective element utilizing principles disclosed in commonly assignedU.S. Pat. Nos. 7,195,381; 6,690,268; 5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034;6,154,306; 6,002,544; 5,567,360; 5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414;5,253,109; 5,076,673; 5,073,012; 5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663;5,910,854; 5,142,407 and/or 4,712,879, and/or U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451;and/or Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23,2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 15, 2006 and published Nov. 23, 2006 asInternational Publication No. WO 2006/124682, and/or European PatentApplication No. EP0728618, filed Dec. 8, 1995 and published Aug. 28,1996; and/or European Patent Application EP0729864, filed Dec. 11, 1995and published Sep. 4, 1996; and/or Australian Patent ApplicationAU4031795, filed Dec. 11, 1995 and published Feb. 8, 1996, and/orAustralian Patent Application AU4031895, filed Dec. 11, 1995 andpublished Aug. 29, 1996, which are all hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, and/or as disclosed in the followingpublications: N. R. Lynam, “Electrochromic Automotive Day/NightMirrors”, SAE Technical Paper Series 870636 (1987); N. R. Lynam, “SmartWindows for Automobiles”, SAE Technical Paper Series 900419 (1990); N.R. Lynam and A. Agrawal, “Automotive Applications of ChromogenicMaterials”, Large Area Chromogenics: Materials and Devices forTransmittance Control, C. M. Lampert and C. G. Granquist, EDS., OpticalEngineering Press, Wash. (1990), which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. The thicknesses and materials ofthe coatings on the substrates of the electrochromic reflective element,such as on the third surface of the reflective element assembly, may beselected to provide a desired color or tint to the mirror reflectiveelement, such as a blue colored reflector, such as is known in the artand/or such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501; 5,910,854 and6,420,036, and in PCT Application No. PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 9,2003, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Optionally, use of an elemental semiconductor mirror, such as a siliconmetal mirror, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,286,965; 6,196,688;5,535,056; 5,751,489 and 6,065,840, and/or in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/993,302, filed Nov. 19, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,177,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, can be advantageous because such elemental semiconductormirrors (such as can be formed by depositing a thin film of silicon) canbe greater than 50 percent reflecting in the photopic (SAE J964ameasured), while being also substantially transmitting of light (up to20 percent or even more). Such silicon mirrors also have the advantageof being able to be deposited onto a flat glass substrate and to be bentinto a curved (such as a convex or aspheric) curvature, which is alsoadvantageous since many passenger-side exterior rearview mirrors arebent or curved.

Optionally, the reflective element may include a perimeter metallicband, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,190; and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 19, 2003; and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US03/35381, filed Nov. 5, 2003; and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,255,451; Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar.23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally, thereflective element may include indicia formed at and viewable at thereflective element, such as by utilizing aspects of the reflectiveelements described in PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May15, 2006; and U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/681,250, filedMay 16, 2005; Ser. No. 60/690,400, filed Jun. 14, 2005; Ser. No.60/695,149, filed Jun. 29, 2005; Ser. No. 60/730,334, filed Oct. 26,2005; Ser. No. 60/750,199, filed Dec. 14, 2005; Ser. No. 60/774,449,filed Feb. 17, 2006; and Ser. No. 60/783,496, filed Mar. 18, 2006, whichare all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the reflective element may comprise a single substrate witha reflective coating at its rear surface. The mirror assembly thus maycomprise a prismatic mirror assembly or planar or non-planar mirror orother mirror having a single substrate reflective element, such as amirror assembly utilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870; 6,598,980; 5,327,288; 4,948,242; 4,826,289;4,436,371 and 4,435,042; and PCT Application No. PCT/US04/015424, filedMay 18, 2004; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/933,842, filedSep. 3, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,249,860, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. Optionally, the reflectiveelement may comprise a conventional prismatic or flat reflective elementor prism, or may comprise a prismatic or flat reflective element of thetypes described in PCT Application No. PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 19,2003; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/709,434, filed May 5, 2004,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,420,756; Ser. No. 10/933,842, filed Sep. 3, 2004,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,249,860; Ser. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23, 2004,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451; and/or Ser. No. 10/993,302, filed Nov. 19,2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,177, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2004/015424, filed May 18, 2004, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include one or more displays, suchas the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240 and/or 6,329,925,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties,and/or display-on-demand or transflective type displays, such as thetypes disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,184,190; 7,195,381; 6,690,268;5,668,663 and/or 5,724,187, and/or in U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/528,269, filed Mar. 17, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,274,501; Ser. No.10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0050018; Ser. No. 11/284,543, filed Nov. 22,2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,983; and/or Ser. No. 11/021,065, filedDec. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US03/29776, filed Sep. 9, 2003; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US03/35381, filed Nov. 5, 2003; and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US03/40611, filed Dec. 19, 2003, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties, or may include or incorporatevideo displays or the like, such as the types described in PCTApplication No. PCT/US03/40611, filed Dec. 19, 2003, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar.9, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0050018; and/or Ser. No.11/284,543, filed Nov. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,983; and/orU.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/630,061, filed Nov. 22, 2004;and Ser. No. 60/667,048, filed Mar. 31, 2005, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror reflective element may comprise a transflectivedisplay on demand reflective element that is partially transmissive andpartially reflective, so that the light emanating from the displayelement may be transmitted through the reflective element when anillumination source is activated, but the display is substantiallynon-visible or viewable when the illumination source is deactivated.Optionally, the mirror reflective element may comprise a singlesubstrate or non-electro-optic reflective element, with the auxiliarywide angle reflector portion being integrally formed or established at arear surface of the reflective element, while remaining within thespirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the reflectiveelement may utilize aspects of the reflective elements described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 7,184,190; 6,690,268; 5,668,663 and/or 5,724,187, and/or inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/993,302, filed Nov. 19, 2004, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,338,177; Ser. No. 10/528,269, filed Mar. 17, 2005, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,274,501; and/or Ser. No. 11/021,065, filed Dec. 23,2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include a blind spot indicatorand/or a turn signal indicator, such as an indicator or indicators ofthe types described in U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No.60/853,850, filed Oct. 24, 2006; and/or Ser. No. 60/918,089, filed Mar.15, 2007; and/or Ser. No. 60/970,687, filed Sep. 7, 2007; and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US07/82099, filed Oct. 22, 2007; and/or U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,198,409; 5,929,786 and 5,786,772, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2006/026148, filed Jul. 5, 2006, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. The signal indicator orindication module may include or utilize aspects of various lightmodules or systems or devices, such as the types described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,227,689; 6,582,109; 5,371,659; 5,497,306; 5,669,699; 5,823,654;6,176,602 and/or 6,276,821, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/520,193, filed Sep. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,859, and/or PCTApplication No. PCT/US2006/018567, filed May 16, 2006, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Such an indicator or indicators may function as a lane change assist(LCA) indicator or indicators and/or a blind spot indicator orindicators. Such blind spot indicators are typically activated when anobject is detected (via a side object or blind spot detection system orthe like such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,038,577; 6,882,287;6,198,409; 5,929,786 and 5,786,772, and/or U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/315,675, filed Dec. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,720,580; and/orPCT Application No. PCT/US2006/026148, filed Jul. 5, 2006, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties) at the sideand/or rear of the vehicle (at the blind spot) and when the turn signalis also activated, so as to provide an alert to the driver of the hostvehicle that there is an object or vehicle in the lane next to the hostvehicle at a time when the driver of the host vehicle intends to moveover into the adjacent lane. Optionally, and alternately, the indicatoror indicators may function as a lane change assist indicator orindicators, where the host vehicle may be detected to be moving into anadjacent lane without the turn signal being activated, and an object orvehicle may be detected at the adjacent lane, whereby the LCA indicatoror indicators may be activated to provide an alert to the driver of thelane change to assist the driver in avoiding unintentional lane changesand/or lane changes when a vehicle or object is detected in the adjacentlane.

The blind spot indicators thus may be operable to provide an indicationto the driver of the host vehicle that an object or other vehicle hasbeen detected in the lane or area adjacent to the side of the hostvehicle. The blind spot indicator may be operable in association with ablind spot detection system, which may include an imaging sensor orsensors, or an ultrasonic sensor or sensors, or a sonar sensor orsensors or the like. For example, the blind spot detection system mayutilize aspects of the blind spot detection and/or imaging systemsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,038,577; 6,882,287; 6,198,409; 5,929,786and/or 5,786,772, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/239,980,filed Sep. 30, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,881,496; and/or Ser. No.11/315,675, filed Dec. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,720,580, and/orU.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/638,687, filed Dec. 23, 2004;Ser. No. 60/628,709, filed Nov. 17, 2004; Ser. No. 60/614,644, filedSep. 30, 2004; and/or Ser. No. 60/618,686, filed Oct. 14, 2004, and/orof the reverse or backup aid systems, such as the rearwardly directedvehicle vision systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,760,962;5,670,935; 6,201,642; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,717,610 and/or 6,757,109,and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/418,486, filed Apr. 18, 2003,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,974, and/or of the automatic headlamp controlsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,094 and/or 5,715,093; and/or U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/105,757, filed Apr. 14, 2005, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,526,103; and/or U.S. provisional application, Ser. No.60/607,963, filed Sep. 8, 2004, and/or of the rain sensors described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,250,148 and 6,341,523, and/or of other imaging systems,such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,353,392 and 6,313,454,which may utilize various imaging sensors or imaging array sensors orcameras or the like, such as a CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensoror other sensors or the like, such as the types disclosed in commonlyassigned, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,760,962; 6,097,023 and 5,796,094,and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/441,341, filed Nov. 16, 1999,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,339,149, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2003/036177 filed Nov. 14, 2003, published Jun. 3, 2004 as PCTPublication No. WO 2004/047421, with all of the above referenced U.S.patents, patent applications and provisional applications and PCTapplications being commonly assigned and being hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

The constructions of the present invention are economical and effectivecompared to the more complicated and potentially more costlyconstructions of other mirror assemblies. For example, no additionalelements or reflectors need be positioned at the front or rear surfaceof the reflective element, since the auxiliary reflector portion isintegrally formed and/or established at the reflective element duringmanufacture of the reflective element.

Changes and modifications to the specifically described embodiments maybe carried out without departing from the principles of the presentinvention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of forming a mirror reflectorsub-assembly suitable for use in an exterior rearview mirror assembly ofa vehicle, said method comprising the steps of: providing a glasssubstrate, said glass substrate having a first surface and a secondsurface, said glass substrate having a thickness between said firstsurface and said second surface of less than 3 millimeters; physicallyremoving glass from a portion of the second surface of said glasssubstrate to form a curved recess locally thereat, said curved recesshaving a maximum recess depth that is less than about 2.26 millimetersand a cross-dimension size that is less than about 80 millimeters, saidcurved recess comprising a radius of curvature that is less than about1,000 millimeters; coating via a vacuum deposition process the secondsurface of said glass substrate with a mirror reflector to form a mirrorreflective element suitable for use in an automotive exterior rearviewmirror assembly, said mirror reflector comprising at least onemirror-reflecting metal thin film layer; wherein, when said mirrorreflective element is used in an automotive exterior rearview mirrorassembly, the first surface of said glass substrate is closer than saidcoated second surface to a side of a vehicle to which the automotiveexterior rearview mirror assembly is attached; wherein, when said mirrorreflective element is used in an automotive exterior rearview mirrorassembly, said mirror reflective element provides a principal reflectorportion and an auxiliary reflector portion to a driver of the vehiclewho views said mirror reflective element when normally operating thevehicle; forming a mirror back plate in a plastic molding operation;said mirror plate having a first side and an opposing second side;wherein said plastic molding operation establishes at said second sideof said mirror back plate structure for attaching said mirror back plateto a mirror actuator; said plastic molding operation comprisinginjection molding; providing a heater pad; and disposing said heater padbetween said coated second surface of said glass substrate and saidfirst side of said mirror back plate.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinphysically removing glass from a portion of the second surface of saidglass substrate to form a curved recess locally thereat comprises atleast one of (i) physically removing glass via a glass grindingoperation and (ii) physically removing glass via a glass ablationoperation.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said portion of the secondsurface of said glass substrate where said curved recess is formed isinboard of a perimeter edge of said glass substrate, and wherein saidcurved recess is generally circular-shaped.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein coating via a vacuum deposition process the second surface ofsaid glass substrate with a mirror reflector comprises coating viasputter deposition.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein, when an exteriorrearview mirror assembly equipped with said mirror reflective element isnormally mounted at a side of a vehicle, said curved recess is generallydisposed at an outboard region of said glass substrate relative to theside of the vehicle.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said glasssubstrate comprises (i) a generally planar second surface other thanwhere said curved recess is formed and (ii) a generally planar firstsurface, and wherein said mirror reflector sub-assembly comprises adriver-side mirror reflector sub-assembly for use in a driver-sideexterior rearview mirror assembly.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein,with said heater pad disposed between said coated second surface of saidglass substrate and said first side of said mirror back plate, a portionof said mirror back plate extends around a perimeter edge of said glasssubstrate.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein, with said heater paddisposed between said coated second surface of said glass substrate andsaid first side of said mirror back plate, said mirror reflectorsub-assembly comprises a frameless mirror reflector sub-assembly.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said structure established at said secondside of said mirror back plate for attaching said mirror back plate to amirror actuator comprises at least one of (i) an annular ring, (ii)annular prongs and (iii) annular snaps.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein said curved recess comprises a spherically curved recess. 11.The method of claim 1, comprising adhesively securing said heater pad atsaid coated second surface of said glass substrate.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein, when an exterior rearview mirror assembly equippedwith said mirror reflective element is normally mounted at a side of avehicle, said curved recess is generally disposed at an outboard regionof said glass substrate relative to the side of the vehicle, and whereinsaid coated glass substrate comprises a spherically curved glasssubstrate having a first radius of curvature and wherein said curvedrecess comprises a spherically curved recess having a second radius ofcurvature and wherein said second radius of curvature of saidspherically curved recess is smaller than said first radius of curvatureof said spherically curved glass substrate, and wherein said mirrorreflector sub-assembly comprises a passenger-side mirror reflectorsub-assembly for use in a passenger-side exterior rearview mirrorassembly.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least onemirror-reflecting metal thin film layer comprises chromium.
 14. A methodof forming a mirror reflector sub-assembly suitable for use in anexterior rearview mirror assembly of a vehicle, said method comprisingthe steps of: providing a glass substrate, said glass substrate having agenerally planer first surface and a generally planar second surface,said glass substrate having a thickness between said first surface andsaid second surface of less than 3 millimeters; physically removingglass from a portion of the second surface of said glass substrate toform a generally circular-shaped curved recess inboard of a perimeteredge of said glass substrate, said curved recess having a maximum recessdepth that is less than about 2.26 millimeters and a cross-dimensionsize that is less than about 80 millimeters, said curved recesscomprising a radius of curvature that is less than about 1,000millimeters; coating via a sputter deposition process the second surfaceof said glass substrate with a mirror reflector to form a mirrorreflective element suitable for use in a driver-side automotive exteriorrearview mirror assembly, said mirror reflector comprising at least onemirror-reflecting metal thin film layer; wherein, when said mirrorreflective element is used in a driver-side automotive exterior rearviewmirror assembly, the first surface of said glass substrate is closerthan said coated second surface to a side of a vehicle to which thedriver-side automotive exterior rearview mirror assembly is attached;wherein, when said mirror reflective element is used in an automotiveexterior rearview mirror assembly, said mirror reflective elementprovides a principal reflector portion and an auxiliary reflectorportion to a driver of the vehicle who views said mirror reflectiveelement when normally operating the vehicle; forming a mirror back platein a plastic molding operation; said mirror plate having a first sideand an opposing second side; wherein said plastic molding operationestablishes at said second side of said mirror back plate structure forattaching said mirror back plate to a mirror actuator; said plasticmolding operation comprising injection molding; providing a heater pad;and disposing said heater pad between said coated second surface of saidglass substrate and said first side of said mirror back plate.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein physically removing glass from a portion ofthe second surface of said glass substrate to form a curved recesslocally thereat comprises at least one of (i) physically removing glassvia a glass grinding operation and (ii) physically removing glass via aglass ablation operation.
 16. The method of claim 15, comprisingadhesively securing said heater pad at said coated second surface ofsaid glass substrate.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said at leastone mirror-reflecting metal thin film layer comprises chromium.
 18. Amethod of forming a mirror reflector sub-assembly suitable for use in anexterior rearview mirror assembly of a vehicle, said method comprisingthe steps of: providing a glass substrate, said glass substrate having afirst surface and a second surface, said glass substrate having athickness between said first surface and said second surface of lessthan 3 millimeters; physically removing glass from a portion of thesecond surface of said glass substrate to form a generallycircular-shaped curved recess inboard of a perimeter edge of said glasssubstrate, said curved recess having a maximum recess depth that is lessthan about 2.26 millimeters and a cross-dimension size that is less thanabout 80 millimeters, said curved recess comprising a radius ofcurvature that is less than about 1,000 millimeters; coating via asputter deposition process the second surface of said glass substratewith a mirror reflector to form a mirror reflective element suitable foruse in an automotive exterior rearview mirror assembly, said mirrorreflector comprising at least one mirror-reflecting metal thin filmlayer; wherein, when said mirror reflective element is used in anautomotive exterior rearview mirror assembly, the first surface of saidglass substrate is closer than said coated second surface to a side of avehicle to which the automotive exterior rearview mirror assembly isattached; wherein, when said mirror reflective element is used in anautomotive exterior rearview mirror assembly, said mirror reflectiveelement provides a principal reflector portion and an auxiliaryreflector portion to a driver of the vehicle who views said mirrorreflective element when normally operating the vehicle; wherein, when anexterior rearview mirror assembly equipped with said mirror reflectiveelement is normally mounted at a side of a vehicle, said curved recessis generally disposed at an outboard region of said glass substraterelative to the side of the vehicle, and wherein said coated glasssubstrate comprises a spherically curved glass substrate having a firstradius of curvature and wherein said curved recess comprises aspherically curved recess having a second radius of curvature andwherein said second radius of curvature of said spherically curvedrecess is smaller than said first radius of curvature of saidspherically curved glass substrate, and wherein said mirror reflectorsub-assembly comprises a passenger-side mirror reflector sub-assemblyfor use in a passenger-side exterior rearview mirror assembly; forming amirror back plate in a plastic molding operation; said mirror platehaving a first side and an opposing second side; wherein said plasticmolding operation establishes at said second side of said mirror backplate structure for attaching said mirror back plate to a mirroractuator; said plastic molding operation comprising injection molding;providing a heater pad; adhesively securing said heater pad at saidcoated second surface of said glass substrate; and disposing said heaterpad between said coated second surface of said glass substrate and saidfirst side of said mirror back plate.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein physically removing glass from a portion of the second surfaceof said glass substrate to form a curved recess locally thereatcomprises at least one of (i) physically removing glass via a glassgrinding operation and (ii) physically removing glass via a glassablation operation.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein said at leastone mirror-reflecting metal thin film layer comprises chromium.